i read there are replacement for epo.So, I assume pro cyclists and/or Lance is/was using things like this. they mentiond hormones. can dr falsetti confirm? i'm disgusted

Yes, it is certainly an issue. There was a lot of news recently because Thevis's speech last week but it has been a problem for a while. At first the issue was Chinese and Russian EPO that was cultured differently so was not caught by the tests. Eventually the tests caught up. Then came CERA, but the manufacture helped develop a test. The challenge today is that instead of 1-2 new products they need to look for there are 100's.

There is also much talk of various metabolic drugs. At the 2009 Tour many riders showed up crazy skinny, with no lack of power or recovery.

On the positive side I believe there are many clean ProTour riders. Many. Clean riders like Marco Pinotti are not only competitive but can win races.

Couple years ago I sat through a talk on drug testing, Barry Bonds, etc. and one little snippet that caught my attention was possible future genetic maniuplation. My best guess is that when something is presented as "future," it is already being tried.

my guess is

Originally Posted by Doctor Falsetti

Yes, it is certainly an issue. There was a lot of news recently because Thevis's speech last week but it has been a problem for a while. At first the issue was Chinese and Russian EPO that was cultured differently so was not caught by the tests. Eventually the tests caught up. Then came CERA, but the manufacture helped develop a test. The challenge today is that instead of 1-2 new products they need to look for there are 100's.

There is also much talk of various metabolic drugs. At the 2009 Tour many riders showed up crazy skinny, with no lack of power or recovery.

On the positive side I believe there are many clean ProTour riders. Many. Clean riders like Marco Pinotti are not only competitive but can win races.

micro dosing in amounts that are hard to detect is being tried as well